Email required Address never made public. Name required. Follow Following. Repeating Islands Join 8, other followers. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Loading Comments Despite the transformation, he has not lost his cocky edge. He does not hesitate to compare himself to biblical heroes. He took the name Moses because he has "so much in common" with the biblical Moses, and compares himself to Joseph, who became influential shortly after being released from prison, "just like me".
Until last year, Shyne had never visited Israel and, despite the fact that his maternal ancestors were Ethiopian Jews, making him Jewish, he had little contact with organised Judaism. Then, just before Rosh Hashanah, he had a sudden urge to cancel travel plans to France and head to Jerusalem instead. He intended a short visit, but has stayed. He met a rabbi from the Belz sect, and very quickly grew close to him and his congregation. It is a sect that shuns secular culture and deems rap non-kosher, but it accepts Shyne because, in his words, the fact that he wants to be closer to God is "all that matters".
But while it is only now that he has connected with the Jewish community, it turns out that he has been strictly observing Jewish laws since early in his prison term - and put his trust in God even before that. He says that he had asked for divine help in bringing the world his debut album in which he sings about "bitches walkin' topless with G-strings".
In return, he promised to adopt a lifestyle alien to the world portrayed in his music - one without any sexual activity whatsoever. In , as his trial loomed and he feared that the album, Shyne, would be shelved due to negative publicity, he declared to God: "You know what?
You know how much I love women, I'm going to be shomer habris [refrain from all sexual activity unless married] until this record comes out. As he talks, there is a sense that while he has left behind the gangsta lifestyle that characterised his teenage years, spent partly with his mother and partly in care, he relates to God in the same way he related to his allies on the streets - with a you-watch-my-back-I'll-watch-yours understanding.
As far as he is concerned, he became religious in prison and as a result, rather than finding he was a disgraced former star upon his release, he found the music world ready to take him back. He considers it a "miracle reward" for his spirituality that Def Jam Recordings signed him, and thinks that he needs to carry on being observant to ensure continued success.
Everything I've done on a basic level of Judaism got me so far - wouldn't it make sense to do even more because I want more? How will Shyne's new identity play itself out in his music? His new raps, which he previewed during our interview, are thoughtful and emotive, many of them predictably about his feelings during his conviction and prison stint. Subscribe for our daily newsletter.
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